Does not compute

For me, the only thing better than buying new stuff is getting rid of old stuff. By "rid" I mean donating, handing down, or recycling.

I like cleaning out my basement, but not clogging landfills.

Recently, I ran across a news item in the local weekly paper about an electronics recycling day. Just about anything with a power cord would be taken.

I could easily compile a decent list of no-longer-powerful objects I wanted to part with:

• an 11-year-old CPU;
• a telephone from, maybe, the 1970s;
• a battery recharger with nothing left to give.

It was almost fun to drive through the recycling line, having eager volunteers take the stuff out of my car and off my hands. I don't know who was happier: me, for clearing out my obsolete stash; or them, for adding to their collection.

I left feeling lighter -- and immediately began a mental list of things to put aside for the next time:  computer cables, power cords, a boom box. And I'm just getting started.

Buying new technology must be akin to buying a boat. They say the second happiest day of your life is when you buy your boat; the happiest is when you sell it.

So remember this when lusting after that hottest electronic must-have: today's next-generation technology is tomorrow's recycling.